Cam Newton-Clay Matthews viral video exchange pleases QB

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Quarterback Cam Newton on Wednesday was feeling boastful about the way the Carolina Panthers outsmarted Green Bay and linebacker Clay Matthews on their first touchdown of Sunday's victory against the Packers.

Video of the play, a 7-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Christian McCaffrey, went viral.

The audio first picked up Matthews shouting to his defense to "watch that wheel route; it's that wheel route" when he thought he recognized what play was coming off the formation.

Then Newton, with a big smile knowing McCaffrey wasn't running a wheel route, could be heard saying, "You've been watching film, huh? That's cool. Watch this."

Instead of a wheel route, McCaffrey came out of the backfield and went over the middle on a break-in route, untouched for the touchdown catch.

"I'm mad they didn't see me and C-Mac's reaction to when he said that," Newton said of the smirk they exchanged. "It was funny. You could hear it clear as day, 'Watch the wheel route, watch the wheel route.'

"Then there was, like, a pause, and the referee was right there, and I'm looking at C-Mac, C-Mac is looking back up at me, and we're like, 'Yeah, it's the wheel route.'"

Newton said he was too deep in the end zone celebrating to see Matthews' reaction to the touchdown.

"You can guarantee one thing about it, we'll have a new signals meeting a couple times this week," said Newton, referring to Sunday's game against Tampa Bay in which a victory would give the Panthers (10-4) a playoff berth. "We don't want the Buccaneers to get any ideas."

Not that the Panthers wouldn't have scored had McCaffrey run the wheel route, a pattern in which a back runs a quick out pattern and then turns upfield.

"There were a couple things we could've done on that," McCaffrey said. "Cam did a good job getting me the ball, and I was pretty much wide-open from there. The wheel might've been open, too."